The End and the Beginning
by khaleesiofmischief
Summary: They had kept the bullet.But how had she died?Why wouldn't Peter tell her?Why did she remember Walter with a gun in his hand?Who was hiding in the cold shadows of her room?What did he want?


The End and the Beginning

Of course I don't know anything except for the idea…I received some lovely reviews that convinced me to keep writing, so here it is!

Olivia was lying on the bed of her apartment. She and Peter hadn't moved into their new house yet. Not with everything happening to them.

That was exactly what Olivia was thinking about and couldn't sleep. She had been shot. But who had done it? And why? It couldn't be Bell. He needed her in order to destroy the two universes and create a new one. She was, as he had called her, the Redeemer. She had been shot so that this wouldn't happen. And she remembered Walter with a gun in his hand.

She had asked Peter about it. But he hadn't told her. He kept talking about the house they were going to live in, he was all excited about their baby. And she was excited as well. But she wanted to know how she had died. They had the bullet –Peter wanted to keep it in order to remind himself to take better care of her- so she knew for sure that she had been shot. But it couldn't have been Walter. He couldn't have taken such a risk! He treated her like a daughter, and he was oh so happy about her relationship with his son. He couldn't have done it. What if she hadn't healed? What would happen then? What would happen to Peter?

She still remembered, very vividly, how he looked when she opened her eyes. His eyes were red and puffy, his face was wet because of all the tears that he had shed for her. But he was smiling. And he held her. And he kissed her. And later, in the hospital, she told him that she was pregnant. And the world had seemed a better place back then.

But now she kept wondering. What had happened? Who had done it?

She slowly got out of bed, careful not to wake Peter. He looked so peaceful, so unburdened, like an angel. _Her_ angel. Someone who wouldn't leave her for any reason, not even the greatest. He hadn't abandoned her when they had found out that she was tearing the two universes apart. He couldn't let go of her when she died.

She resisted that strong desire to touch him, kiss him, wake him up. She couldn't do that, not when he looked like that.

She let her eyes wander and rest on the nightstand at his side. The bullet was there, clean, inside a small jar. Olivia hadn't told him yet, but she wanted to give it to their child when it reached the proper age, when it knew about life and death. She also hadn't told him that she wanted their baby to have his eyes.

She stood in front of the mirror, looking at her own reflection. She placed one hand on her tummy. No one could tell that she was pregnant by looking at her, but she could almost feel the baby growing inside her. Oh, this baby was going to be so loved! She already knew that Peter was good with kids, and they had been through so much that this baby seemed to be the reward for all the pain that they had endured.

She then looked at her forehead. There was nothing there, not even the slightest proof of having been shot. It was like it had never happened. But it had happened. And she knew why. But she still didn't know how.

She looked at Peter again. He hadn't moved at all. It was almost unbelievable how much she loved him! What they had been through was definitely unbelievable…

When she looked at her reflection once more, there was someone behind her. Not very close, lost in the darkness of her room. But someone was indeed there, and she hadn't heard him move. Who was it? And what were they doing there? Did they want to kill her? But both universes had been saved; she had been sacrificed.

Should she wake Peter? Her gun was in the living room, so she couldn't shoot the guy. She was pregnant, but she wasn't helpless. No, she decided, she would take care of him herself. Besides, she couldn't let Peter watch her die again if she didn't make it. No, he had been through a lot.

The man slowly moved towards her, revealing himself. It was Walter. But Olivia's instinct told her not to trust him. He looked the same as always, but he had a gun in his hand. At that moment, Olivia realized that Walter had shot her. He had had a gun. He had turned towards her. He had fired her. And she had fallen.

"What are you doing here, Walter?"

Her voice sounded shaky. She was a very good agent, she had even killed a shapeshifter that had taken her partner's form. It hadn't been easy, but she had done it. And Peter had been there to comfort her. As always. He had always been there to take her pain away, even in the beginning.

But now she was scared. Walter was there to finish what he had started. And she couldn't harm him, even though he was willing to take her life. And the life of her baby. Her baby with Peter.

"I'm sorry, Olive", he whispered. "But this has to be done. You have to die."

She decided to talk him out of it, to reason with him. She didn't have to die. She had died at the right time. But she had healed. And now there was no reason for her to die. And she couldn't let Peter go. Not now, not ever.

"Walter, I died, remember? I died, and both universes were saved. It's done. I don't have to die again. And if you do it, I won't be able to heal again."

"But you haven't healed, Olive. You must die."

Confused, she touched her forehead. There was something warm, thick and wet. And when she looked at her fingers, she saw blood. Red, thick, warm blood. Her blood. And when she looked at her reflection, she saw a wound right where she had been shot.

"I'm sorry."

Peter woke up. He looked at Olivia first, then at Walter, who was pointing a gun at her. He blinked, confused and still a little sleepy. Then, when he appreciated the situation, he started shaking his head, rather rapidly.

"No, Walter, don't do this. Please!"

Walter shook his head as well. It was obvious that this was hard for him. He was trying to convince himself to do it.

And then, he did it. He shot her. But not on the forehead, but on her tummy. He killed both Olivia and the baby.

She woke up, screaming. Her whole body was covered in sweat. Her breaths were coming out in short bursts, in pants. It had been a dream, but she caught herself looking at her tummy and placing a hand on it. There was no blood, no wound, and she thought that she could feel the baby.

Peter was of course awake and alarmed. He was looking at her, his eyes a little wide, moving quickly all over her. He had been scared by her scream. He couldn't lose her again. Not again. Especially now, with the baby inside her.

He cupped her cheek with his hand and focused his eyes on her beautiful but a little scared face. "Liv, what happened?"he asked her in a whisper.

She looked at him, and her breathing soon returned to normal. His eyes had done the trick. His eyes always calmed her, and his arms always made her feel safe, like nothing in the entire world could harm her as long as his strong arms were around her.

"Walter shot me, didn't he?"she asked.

He didn't ask how she knew. He didn't try to change the subject. He just nodded and asked, "What happened?"

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She had had a nightmare, a terrible one. But it had taught her something, something important.

"I had a bad dream, I'll tell you about it. But first there is something else I want to tell you… Remember what you saw when you stepped into the machine?"

He nodded.

"Well, you've already lost me twice, and I've caused you a lot of pain. But now I promise you that I'll do my best so that you won't lose me again. I love you, Peter."

He smiled –he looked so sweet and cute when he did that- and rubbed his nose with hers. They weren't going to lose each other again. Never. Not if they could stop it.

"I love you, too, Liv."

He wrapped his arms around him. She relaxed in his embrace, the dream forgotten for the time being. She didn't have to worry about that. She just had to keep herself alive. For Peter and for their baby. She couldn't die again. Not in that way. Not by getting shot. He had lost her twice that way –he had changed that future, but he had lived it first, he had mourned, he had experienced the pain of her loss. He had told her what he had seen, and she had felt so sorry for him.

But he had left something out. Not because he didn't trust her or because he didn't want to share that terrible end with her. Of course not. He just wanted their new beginning to be a surprise. The fact that they were married in that future had to remain a secret, so that Olivia would be surprised the time he would propose. And that would happen quite soon…


End file.
